Deputies Nico Paretti, Taryus Smith and Javonna Cordova were happy to lend a hand to St. John Arc clients this morning at the Arc work center in LaPlace. The officers met with clients for a special project that promotes recycling as well as helps the homeless.
Led by Cindy St. Pierre, Janice Church and Linda Lambert, clients are creating sleeping mats and providing these mats to homeless people.
After several months, the clients’ first mat was recently completed and presented to the SJSO for officers to deliver to someone homeless in the New Orleans area. The clients, with a little help from the deputies, started on their second mat this morning. The bags are folded, cut, and looped to create a plastic mat that can be easily rolled up and is light to carry. Each 6-foot-by-2½-foot mat is made from 600 to 700 recycled plastic grocery bags.
